


Evocation

by Lunar_Tear



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Amnesia, Angst, Except he lives, Family, Gen, I guess major character death too, Linked Universe, Lon Lon Ranch, Minor Character Death, Part of Linked Worlds, Pre-Calamity, Wild’s backstory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-30
Updated: 2020-09-30
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:21:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,554
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26726581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lunar_Tear/pseuds/Lunar_Tear
Summary: “Once upon a time, there lived a family of five. There was a mother, a father, a grandfather, a son, and a daughter. They lived on a ranch, and they were happy.”“The ranch is in ruins, and yet he can’t help but feel as if he’s come home.”My take on Wild’s life before Calamity Ganon. This is linked to my other fanfic, Linked Worlds. It’s not necessary that you read that before this.
Kudos: 43





	Evocation

Gasping for breath, Link hops onto Epona’s back. Guardians are a pain without ancient arrows or shields, especially the moving ones. He spurs her on, heading towards a landmark that had caught his interest while looking at the Sheikah Slate’s map. Just slightly southwest of Hyrule Castle, shaped like an oval. If he had learned anything on his quest, it was to look at anything even slightly interesting.

This was slightly interesting.

As he nears the spot he pinned on the map, he can see that whatever this place once was, there’s not much left of it. Wood is scattered on the ground, and there are a few pots. There is a stone structure that seems to have had it’s entire top knocked off. He can see a few Korok flowers in the distance. The slate chimes, and he checks the map to see the name of the location.

_Ranch Ruins._

A ranch, huh? Link doesn’t know how he knows what that is. There aren’t any remaining ranches in Hyrule, so he’s never seen a functioning one. Unless he knows it from before. Maybe that’s why it feels... familiar.

The ranch is in ruins, and yet he can’t help but feel as if he’s come home.

That’s strange. Home? Link can’t remember the last time he felt like he was at home. He shrugs off the confusion, and heads towards the korok.

\- - - • • • - - -

Once upon a time, there lived a family of five. There was a mother, a father, a grandfather, a son, and a daughter. They lived on a ranch, and they were happy.

The father’s name was Lance, and he was a royal knight. He was tall, with electric blue eyes and blond hair that he passed on to his son. He was scarred from years of battle, the vision in his left eye forever gone because of this. Despite his rough and intimidating exterior, he was actually quite kind. He loved his family with all his heart, and every second away from them hurt when he had to go on long trips for work.

The mother was named Mallory, and she worked on the ranch alongside her father. She passed on soft brown eyes and fiery red hair to her daughter. She loved her job, and she loved her family. Passion motivated her to excel at being a ranch hand, mother, wife, daughter, and an overall good person. Mallory had a singing voice that all of the horses and passerby would stop to listen to, and she sang to her husband when he had nightmares, and to her children when they wouldn’t go to sleep.

Tary was the grandfather’s name. His eyes were blue, though not quite as bright as Lance’s or his grandchild’s. The top of his head was balding, and what hair he had left was black with strands of gray. He wasn’t as hard of a worker as his daughter, but he got his share of the work done. When he wasn’t helping with the ranch or dozing off, he was telling stories to his grandkids. Stories of heroes that were skyward bound, adrift in time, and steeped in the glowing embers of twilight, heroes who saved lands both on maps or in the world of dreams, heroes who’s shared spirit was forever bound to a sword of light.

The daughter was called Mary. She was the youngest, the sweetest, the most innocent. She would nurse injured animals back to health, she would force her dad to rest if he was injured at work, she would accompany her brother in his expeditions in the wild. Though she was absolutely horrible at cooking, she’d watch her mother and big brother make dinner while she sat on a chair that was too tall for her feet to touch the ground, singing a song she had learned from a legend of her grandfather’s telling. The Ballad of the Wind Fish was it’s name. She loved the story of its origin, thought it sweet and sad. Mary was just as talented as her mother when it came to singing. The birds would stop to listen as she leaned against the fence of the ranch, her song fascinating and silencing them.

The son had been named Link. He had his father’s skill with a sword, though he preferred the bow that he’d been taught to use. He loved exploring the wild and learning all about the flora and fauna. He learned how to cook from his mother, how to fight and identify plants from his father, stories of the past heroes from his grandfather, and he learned protectiveness from his sister. He’d occasionally go with his father on trips to Zora’s Domain, and was quick friends with the princess, Mipha, and when he was born, her brother Sidon. Link loved his family with all his heart, and thought that the rest of his life would be spent happy on the ranch, occasionally traveling all across Hyrule.

Of course, that wasn’t possible. Because unbeknownst to him and his family, he had the Hero’s Spirit. He had the ability to wield the legendary Master Sword. He had a role to play in the Sheikah’s 10,000 year old prophecy. The unlucky few with those traits were always heroes, and they didn’t often have happy stories.

The beginning of the end was when he was ten years old. Lance had left on a trip for work a few weeks ago, a mission to dispatch a particularly strong group of monsters in the Lanayru Wetlands. He was supposed to be back ages ago, so when they received a letter from the commanding officer, Mallory feared the worst as she opened it.

The news of Lance’s death was devastating. Mallory sobbed as she held her kids close to her chest, Mary crying as well and Link hugging them back with a blank look on his face. Tary has noticed this as he put his hand on Mallory’s shoulder, and feared the worst for his grandson. His grandson, who had always worn his heart in his sleeve, his face always showing what he was feeling, had blank eyes and a far off gaze. That look stayed on his face, until his father’s funeral, when he approached the grave and started sobbing uncontrollably. Lance’s death was bad for him.

Mallory’s death was horrible.

A year later, she had fallen deathly ill. Bed ridden, pale, and constant coughing that kept Link up at night, holding onto his sister in fear of her disappearing like his dad. After weeks of this, her coughs started bringing blood, and she ate and drank and slept less and less and less, until one day, she called her family into the room to say goodbye. She held Link and Mary’s hands as she faded away, too weak and exhausted to say anything. 

Another year, and Link had found a strange forest with a sword in a pedestal. It was easily pulled, and then he was whisked away to the palace so he could be trained, because he was the hero, and with that role came great responsibility. The day he was told he couldn’t see his family anymore, that he was stuck at the palace until the Calamity was defeated, he stopped expressing emotion completely. He became emotionless. He became a weapon. He became the hero.

That wasn’t true though. He had emotions. He was sad when he thought about his mother and father, he missed his grandpa and little sister. He was a person, not a tool! Link wondered if this is what the past heroes had to go through too.

Five years passed, and the Calamity was before them. This was the time to save Hyrule. It was time to protect the princess, and hold off Ganon while she used her sealing powers to stop him for good. Just one last obstacle, and he could go home. Mary must have grown up so much. Grandpa must have taken good care of the ranch. He’ll find out when he goes home. Just one more demon to face. He could almost imagine hugging his grandfather, picking up his sister and twirling her around like he used to do when they were little. Link could finally put his role of Champion behind him, and be normal like he used to be.

However, that’s not how being a hero goes. Link tries, and he blocks laser after laser, and he falls. His last thought before he died was of his sister and grandfather, imagining the fire and bloodshed and screams of terror at the ranch, and praying to Hylia that they were safe.

\- - - • • • - - -

Link waves goodbye to the korok and head towards what was probably the entrance of the ranch. As he passes by a piece of fencing that is miraculously still intact, he swears he can hear a faint song in the wind.

B C D, B C D, C B F A B.....

A melancholy tune, one that reminds him of crashing waves and fiery red hair, a faint salty breeze and soft brown eyes. He pulls his hood off, and takes in the song for a while more, before heading back to Epona.

As Link walks off, he hums the song. Something tells him that it’s important. Why is it important? 

.....Well, he can’t exactly remember.


End file.
